CAS dismisses Azerbaijan hockey appeal against Spain

MADRID (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's appeal for Spain's women to be disqualified from the Olympic hockey competition because of doping violations has been dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The CAS panel said that Azerbaijan's case arguing that they should replace Spain in the competition had no standing.

The Azerbaijan Hockey Federation had appealed to CAS against the International Hockey Federation (FIH) decision to allow Spain to compete in the Olympics after exonerating the team following an alleged doping case involving two Spanish players in the qualifying tournament in Baku in April.

The FIH found one player guilty of a doping violation without significant fault or violation and the other was exonerated of any offence.

Spain, who qualified ahead of Azerbaijan in the tournament, argued the cases were the result of a possible attempt to sabotage the team's chances during the Olympic qualifying tournament.

Players and coaching staff complained about the organization of the event on their return from Azerbaijan.

They said four members of the team had collapsed in the hotel prior to their match against Kenya having inhaled gas that had escaped from the air conditioning system.

They also complained that players were unable to sleep after being bombarded by telephone calls in their hotel rooms. Others felt ill after drinking water given to them by organizers during matches.

Spain qualified for the Olympics after beating hosts Azerbaijan 3-2 in the final.

(Reporting by Simon Baskett; editing by Miles Evans in Beijing)